When our country was first formed there were two political parties wooing the American voter, the Federalist Party created by Alexander Hamilton and the Democrat-Republican Party supported by Jefferson and Madison. Not only could the Democrats and Republicans get along with each other, they were members of the same family! The Federalists eventually disappeared and the remaining political party split in two. [Read more…]

Clinton had a lot in common with Nixon, and Obama has a lot in common with Reagan. In fact, the events of 1970s and 1980s were a mirror image of the events of 1990s to today.

Nixon was a Republican moderate who led the country at the time that the public sentiment was strongly to the Left. He was hated by people for being out of step with this public sentiment. Clinton [Read more…]

Nowadays it is very common to find students actively involving themselves in politics. Many students have even pledged allegiance to different political parties. What are the short-term implications and long-term effects of this participation in politics by students? [Read more…]

Today’s thoughts come from the campaign trail so let’s get right to the point…Yard Signs Don’t Win Elections. I have spent numerous hours putting together signs and then canvassing streets till all hours of the night. The burning question that comes to mind is; did my 30,000 yard signs change the democratic wave that hit the voting booths? [Read more…]

When trying to decide which political office you want to run for, think of your eventual campaign message. You’ll want to make sure that you go for the office you are good at. Some public offices are administrative, where your ability to handle staff and serve the public is the major criterion. Are you good at paperwork? Can you handle subordinates? [Read more…]

“I want to be elected” was a song by Alice Cooper, who’s one of the few rockers of his time that I enjoy listening to but never actually have seen in concert. When I was studying orthodontics in the UK, he came to my town, but was sold out before I could get a ticket. I do have a cousin in Arizona who has played golf with him though! [Read more…]

Back in June, The New York Times featured an interesting story by David Leonhardt about the United States corporate tax system and the possibility of its reform in the coming years. One of the arguments in the post is the remarkable difference in the corporate tax rates for entities in various sectors. For example, companies with easily portable products, such as concentrate to make soda, can easily move operations to low-tax territories. Companies with intangible assets such as software application manufacturing can structure their accounting so that profits are reported in low-tax jurisdictions. [Read more…]

If you’re a new candidate who is running for office in a local election political campaign, you might be confused about what kind of strategy you should use for winning votes. Local elections are very different from statewide or national campaigns that you are used to seeing on television every year, and the tactics you should use to win your race are every bit as different. Here are some pointers on what strategies you should use to get voted into office on election day. [Read more…]

Thousands of people every year in the United States get involved in local campaigning for office without much of an idea how to run a local election effort. While having a desire to serve your community is a great attribute and will make you a terrific public servant, you first need to know how to run a local election effort in order to earn the job. [Read more…]

Republicans have an important decision to make. Who is going to be the Presidential nominee in 2016? Mitt Romney did not invigorate the Republican base or Independents. Senator John McCain faced the same issue, especially with his moderate voting record. With Representative Ron Paul garnishing so much support in 2012 I would think the GOP elites who see the writing on the wall. [Read more…]